Choral Music Magazine

The image of the bodily ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven is one that has captivated composers throughout the ages so completely that they found themselves quite unable to resist the opportunity of depicting it in music. It was an image that resonated with fine artists also. There are many paintings of Jesus floating up heavenwards, supported by jubilant angels, and even some that show only his feet remaining, sticking out of a cloud, as the following URL’s illustrate. The first is an image by an unknown painter dating from 1420-30: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=3427
and second a painting by Hans Suess von Kulmbach:
www.metmuseum.org/Works_Of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=11&viewMode=1&item=21.84
The twentieth-century Spanish artist Salvador Dali also captured this event from a stunning perspective in his 1958 masterpiece Ascension: www.abcgallery.com/D/dali/dali206.html

Small wonder then that, with such graphic stimuli, we are the fortunate inheritors of a wealth of music for this feast. Ascension Day is the 40th day after Easter, commemorating the reception of Jesus into heaven. As the bible puts it: “He was raised up and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). In some churches this vision of the ascension was vividly reproduced by elevating the figure of Christ above the altar through an opening in the roof of the church! In others, as the figure of Christ ascended, that of the Devil was made to descend. Presumably they ignored one another as they passed! The many texts that describe this event have given composers numerous opportunities for what is known as word or text painting—the direct depiction in music of images from a text. This is a practice that began in the Renaissance and has been frequently used by composers of all eras ever since. The question is where to begin with such a plethora of music to consider? Perhaps with the finest work in the repertoire!

Orlando Gibbons’ eight-part anthem O clap your hands (known to many English singers colloquially as “O flap your glands”) represents the zenith of the polyphonic repertoire for this feast day. Tradition has it that this was Gibbons’ doctoral exercise for his D.Mus submission at Oxford University in 1622, although recent scholarship has cast some doubt on this. If it is true, then Gibbons was richly deserving of this high accolade! It is a setting of Psalm 47, which includes the famous phrase “God is gone up with a merry noise: and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet.” This piece is a challenge even for the best choirs since the writing is densely contrapuntal throughout. Such are Gibbons’ skills in counterpoint that the imitative entries come fast and furious upon one another, often at a beat’s distance—“Glory be to the Father,” for example—severely challenging singers’ counting skills, although the overall effect is glorious! What is particularly fine about this work is Gibbons’ ability to juxtapose such complex points of imitation with passages of antiphonal homophony. In the English tradition, the cathedral choirs were seated on two sides: Decani—the dean’s side, and Cantoris—the cantor’s side. Each half of the choir had a full four-part contingent of singers, and it was thus possible to perform eight-part music antiphonally. There is a wonderful moment in the second half of this work where the two sides echo antiphonally the phrase “O sing praises.” It comes as if out of nowhere, following an extensive point of imitation, and takes us aback with its immediacy, as it echoes from side to side. All in all the work is a tour-de-force of contrapuntal ingenuity and rhythmic vitality.

Turning to repertoire from continental Europe, Peter Phillips’ five-part setting of Ascendit Deus is particularly fine. Ironically, it was composed by a recusant Roman Catholic Englishman living and working in the Spanish Netherlands who was at pains to identify himself in his manuscripts as “Anglo” or “inglese.” It comes from his collection of Cantiones Sacrae of 1610, and is a setting of the offertory antiphon for the Feast of the Ascension. Overt word painting can be heard from the outset. The opening point of imitation, “Ascendit Deus,” features a theme based on a rising triad, which migrates at once throughout the voices. At the mention of trumpets, “in vocae tubae”, fanfare figures abound, echoing round the choir in joyous abandon. The work concludes with a homophonic, triple-time “Alleluia” refrain. Although hard to sing, the effect in performance is truly mesmerizing! Philips’ Slovenian contemporary, Jacob Handl (known alternatively as Jacobus Gallus) also composed a setting of the same text, scored for five voices, this time with the addition of a baritone part. If anything, the opening is even more spectacular than Philips’ version. Almost immediately, the first soprano phrase rises to a high A during the first point of imitation, leaving absolutely no doubt as to just where Christ has gone! While the tessitura is high throughout, it well repays the hard work it takes in preparation. Victoria, of course, was wonderfully inspired by this feast day. The great motet Ascendens Christus in altum, scored for five voices (SSATB), was the model for his mass of the same name, Missa ascendens Christus in altum. As with many of his essays in this genre, the mass works extremely well liturgically, the length of the several movements fitting well with the liturgical action.

Composers in the twentieth-century were not immune to the allure of Ascentiontide imagery. English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’ splendid setting of O clap your hands is exciting work, albeit one that is somewhat tricky to pull off. The sopranos need to be comfortable with high B-flats, and the organ accompaniment is challenging. However the energy generated by this setting is palpable. Vaughan Williams exploits the full potential for contrast in this graphic text. Early in the work, “God is gone up with a shout” is set as a jubilant, almost pagan dance. Later, at the words “For God is the King of all the earth,” the mood changes abruptly, with the tempo slowing and the range low, as if literally depicting the earthly realm in contrast to heaven. If desired, there are optional parts for brass that add greatly to the overall effect of this exhilarating piece, particularly in a large space. Fellow Englishman Gerald Finzi moved in the same circles as Vaughan Williams and was strongly influenced by his music. Finzi’s setting of God is gone up, scored for SATB chorus and organ (there are also optional string parts), is perhaps the most challenging of the20th-century additions to the Ascensiontide repertoire. A first-rate organist with nerves of steel is essential here, and the vocal writing, with its divisi splits and some harmonic and rhythmic complexities, will challenge even the best of choirs. The results, however, are spectacular.

There are several works which, while not being nearly so demanding, manage to convey the image of the ascension rather well. Luca Marenzio’s setting of O Rex gloriae is one such choice. It is scored for four voices, and the choral writing is not unduly difficult. There are fine examples of text painting. The grandiose writing for the phrase “qui triumphator hodie” and extended scale passages in rising thirds for “super omnes coelos ascendisti,”, both help to convey this vivid text. Henry Purcell’s setting of the collect for the Sunday after Ascension Day, O God, the King of Glory, is also a fine work, relatively easy and definitely worthy of greater exposure that it often receives. It is scored for four voices with no divisi writing, and these are supported by continuo. Bryan Kelly is a composer who has choral writing firmly in his blood. His musical career started as a boy chorister in the choir of Worcester College, Oxford, and an exposure to Anglican choral repertoire at such an early age put him in good stead as a composer of vocal music. His setting of Rejoice, the Lord is King is one of those pieces that both looks and sounds difficult, but actually isn’t once a little time is spent on it. Kelly, too, falls prey to the urge for word painting, this time of the 20th-century variety, as the phrase “Lift up your hearts,” with its acerbic major seconds, vividly portrays. This is definitely a work that will impress an audience or congregation!

And so Ascensiontide passes once more in the relentless cycle of the liturgical year, and, in the traditional liturgy, the great Paschal candle is solemnly extinguished as Christ’s ascension into heaven is solemnly proclaimed in the gospel of the day—a vivid symbol of the departure of Christ’s bodily presence from this world.